The VA administrators were told to cut costs, and they got a bonus for
cutting costs. So they cut costs by not treating veterans. The VA doesn't
get paid more for treating more veterans, after all. Like they say, all
bureaucracies invariably seek to increase their resources while at the same
time reducing their work-load.
Anyway this VA debacle should clue people in as to why we don't want a
government run universal health care system in America. The VA system is
pretty big and well-equipped, but if the federal government is having
trouble providing major medical care for a few million out of the 26 million
veterans in the country (generally speaking, the most needy and vulnerable
veterans too), how would it hope to provide major hospital care for 300
million American citizens, plus over 11 million undocumented immigrants?!
Any "free" medical care system will be quickly overwhelmed with demands for
care and the administrators who govern the system will be given incentives
to keep costs down, rather than expand care.
"Being mad won't help. Basic reform is needed. Give people a perverse set
of incentives and they will behave perversely."
John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.) Brisbane, Australia, Dissecting Leftism BlogSpot.
Dogged by a widening scheduling scandal that first came to light in Phoenixbut has now reportedly spread to at least six other VA facilities, VeteransAffairs Secretary Eric Shinseki rebuffed calls for his resignation inCongress this week. He boldly informed a Senate panel, "I intend to continuethis mission until I have satisfied [my] goal or I'm told by the commanderin chief that my time has been served." He did, however, say that he's "madas hell" about the allegations, so we'll see if that translates intopositive action.
As one of Obama's original appointees, Shinseki has overseen the VA sincebefore its 14-day wait-list metric for patients was established three yearsago. The metric determined that a patient should be seen no more than twoweeks from his or her initial call, but the two-week goal has been ignoredby a growing number of VA facilities. In fact, a VA office in Gainsville,Florida, was just found to have a secret wait list full of 200 veterans.
Also troubling are the harmful cost-cutting measures allegedly beingimplemented on Shinseki's watch. A whistleblower who formerly worked for anewly created Texas VA center found problems with the new facility's HVACsystem and backup generator that endangered a sterile surgical environment,but more disturbing still was a course of care that called for threepositive fecal screenings before allowing for a colonoscopy. Dr. RichardKrugman, the whistleblower, says such delays can cost lives, because, "Bythe time that you do the colonoscopies on these patients, you went from astage 1 to a stage 4 [colorectal cancer], which is basically inoperable."Patients would then perhaps die at home or in a private hospital, off the VArecords.
Krugman says the same Texas facility deleted 1,800 orders for service toeliminate a backlog and pass an inspection. Evidently, he blew the whistleon one too many things, however, as he was put on administrative leavebefore being fired in 2012.
Shinseki's agency obviously has its hands full with this investigation, soBarack Obama has enlisted Deputy Chief of Staff Rob Nabors to assist theprobe. Shinseki welcomed Nabors as "a fresh set of eyes." As its mission,the VA sets 230,000 appointments a day and faces pressure from both ends:Vietnam-era veterans who are now facing the ailments of old age as theyreach their sixties and seventies, coupled with the needs of youngerveterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.
As we've said before, the problems that plague the VA are surely aharbinger of things to come for the overall health care system underObamaCare. Its big problem is how to fund care for older and sicker peoplewith few younger and healthier individuals willing to pay a higher premium.But the failures at the VA are practically inherent to any bureaucracy -ineptitude, indifference and self-protection are baked into the cake. Itsure would be helpful if a "fresh set of eyes" also looked at the currentAmerican health care system.
By Epictetus
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